While teaching science in an alternative arts high school, the author continuously addresses the challenge of welcoming creative, right-brained students into the world of systematic inquiry. Busily mixing paint colors, choreographing futuristic dances, performing comedic theater, and practicing the banjo, the students rarely initiate authentic…

This paper explores how two teachers concurrently enacting the same technology-based inquiry unit on evolution structured activity and discourse in their classrooms to connect students' computer-based investigations to formal domain theories. Our analyses show that the teachers' interactions with their students during inquiry were quite similar,…

Evolution by natural selection provides the conceptual framework upon which much of modern biology is based: therefore understanding core ideas about biological evolution is an essential part of scientific literacy. Nonetheless, research repeatedly shows that high school and college students have difficulties understanding the notion of natural…

This course of study is aligned with the California State Science Framework and provides students the biology content needed to become scientifically literate and prepared for post-secondary science education. The course of study is divided into four sections. The first section provides an overview of the course and includes a course description,…

Education is a process of adapting to change, and the rate of change is especially rapid in science today. This curriculum in human biology is an alternative to the New York State courses in general and Regents biology, and it has been designed to focus on change from the standpoint of the urban student. It is designed to provide students with…

While agreeing with psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic theories that suggest that innate language-related cognitive structures are the basis of language development, the author seeks to establish what it is that is innate and what is meant by innateness in the first place. The author considers the claims of psychological relevance made on behalf…

Human linguistic ability depends, in part, on the gradual evolution of man's supralaryngeal vocal tract. The anatomic basis of human speech production is the result of a long evolutionary process in which the Darwinian process of natural selection acted to retain mutations. For auditory perception, the listener operates in terms of the acoustic…

Using "Patterns of Childrearing," by Sears, Maccoby and Levin (1957) as a starting point, this paper touches on the schism between developmental and social psychology and attempts to assess the progress of research in social development during the past quarter century with respect to five major perspectives that are at once evolutionary,…

Computer software, audiovisuals, and books are reviewed. Includes topics on interfacing, ionic equilibrium, space, the classification system, Acquired Immune Disease Syndrome, evolution, human body processes, energy, pesticides, teaching school, cells, and geological aspects. Availability, price, and a description of each are provided. (RT)

Asks secondary students to compare the real Scopes trial to the fictionalized version presented in the movie "Inherit the Wind," with their textbook and Web site versions. Intends for students to learn about key facts, arguments, and outcomes of the trial and to understand significant individuals' impacts on the trial's events and…

This study addresses the need for research in three areas: (1) teachers' understandings of scientific inquiry; (2) conceptual understandings of evolutionary processes; and (3) technology-enhanced instruction using an inquiry approach. The purpose of this study was to determine in what ways "The Galapagos Finches" software-based materials created a…

Darwinian evolution is accepted by the great majority of scientists as the method by which the diversity of earth's organisms, including humans, evolved. Current research continues to expand our knowledge of evolutionary mechanisms. However, certain religious groups, supporting teaching the creation of earth's species as outlined in Genesis…

In response to the growing national concern about precollege science education, this guide was developed to assist school administrators, curriculum planners, teachers, and scientists in incorporating earth science in K-12 science curricula. The guide is divided into four main sections that provide a framework for planning and implementing earth…

Throughout history, there has been controversy about the origin of the variety of life on earth. The sciences of evolution and taxonomy are intimately tied to this controversy. This booklet considers time, space, and spirit related to evolution. Time refers to a sense of history; space refers to geography; and spirit refers to life and thought.…

This book is one in a series designed to provide access to a wide range of selected articles from magazines, newspapers, and journals. This volume contains 46 articles by scientists, educators, researchers, and writers providing effective and useful perspectives on today's important topics in the study of biology. Articles included in this guide…